Evander Kane was born on August 2, 1991, in Vancouver, British Columbia. A standout with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, Kane was selected fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

In his junior career, Kane won the Memorial Cup in 2007 with the Vancouver Giants and represented Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship where he brought home a gold medal.

Kane earned a spot in the Thrashers lineup with a strong showing in his first NHL training camp. In total he would appear in 66 games for the club that year, recording 14 goals and 12 assists, ranking him 12th among rookie scorers.

Prior to the 2011-12 season, Kane and the rest of the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg to form the Winnipeg Jets.

After a number of seasons in Winnipeg, Kane was unhappy with his situation with the team and requested a trade. On February 11, 2015, Kane got his wish when he was traded, along with Zach Bogosian and Jason Kasdorf, to the Buffalo Sabres for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux and a first round draft pick.

The 2015-16 season would be Kane's first with the Sabres. In 65 games for the club, he recorded 20 goals and added 15 assists. Kane followed that up with a 28 goal campaign in 2016-17, the second highest output of his NHL career.

On February 26, 2018, the NHL's trade deadline, Kane's time in the Sabres organization would come to an end. He was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Dan O'Regan and a pair of draft picks.